falloutfanonfandomcom-20200222-history
Dale Willis
A recent arrival to the Seattle area, Dale Willis is the regional manager of Seattle’s branch of the Gun Runners and also the gunsmiths’ protector. Though he is physically quite competent, Dale has a host of mental problems threatening his daily life with most of them stemming from his service in the NCR Army. History Childhood and Teenage Years Dale Willis was born in the Hub on November 3, 2254 to Sean Willis and and an unknown mother. The little baby seemed to already have a difficult future ahead of him. Dale's parents were both refugees fleeing the advance of Caesar's Legion in Arizona. They were poor, unmarried, and disliked by the Hub's populace. Dale's mother wanted to keep the child but had a change of heart after actually giving birth. This shocked and angered Dale's father Sean. He had been working very hard for almost four years in Old Town to make enough money to buy his own farm in northern California. Sean was disgusted by the very suggestion that he might abandon his newborn son and quickly seized Dale soon after he was weaned. He went on to leave the Hub for northern California in 2256 with his son in tow, leaving Dale's mother behind to an unknown fate. Sean never told Dale his mother's name. It was a difficult journey for Sean and Dale as they eked their way north towards their prospective farm. The road was still rather dangerous at time since the NCR had not cleared out the region's raiders yet. The father and son managed to survive though and made it to their "farm" in the summer of 2255. It was just a shack with some fields, but it was good enough for Sean Willis. Dale's childhood was hard but oddly enjoyable. As soon as he walking, Dale was helping his father around the farm. He had little time for play in his early childhood. However, things began to improve in the early 2260's when more people began settling down near the Willis farm, often with their own children. This opened a wealth of possibilities for Dale with him quickly making friends with other children in neighboring farms. Sean greatly approved of this, seeing his son as finally coming into his own. The Willis family bought a radio soon after more farmers began to arrive. Dale's favorite program on the radio was The Adventures of Marty and Stu, with Marty being his personal hero as a boy. Dale Willis was a “precocious” child. He was a quick and witty but still easily influenced by his new friends from other nearby farms. This often involved mischief or pranks pulled on other farmers. Dale never went to far though and kept in the good graces of the community by being known as fun-loving, hard-working, and dependable. A school was established for the farming community where the Willises lived in 2269. Sean was happy to see his son get “a proper education” and sent Dale off immediately to school. School mostly disinterested Dale as felt he, being literate, knew all he needed to know, and he often cut classes. Dale would rather just return to his father’s farm and work the land like he used to. However, Dale’s life was changed forever when an New California Republic Army recruiter came through his community in late 2270. The recruiter was not looking for conscripts but instead volunteers, seeing Dale’s farming community as the perfect place to get some. The recruiter came to the local school and proceeded to spin tales of adventures to distant lands such as Oregon, Baja California, and the Mojave. This romanticized version of the NCR Army's exploits appealed to Dale greatly and awakened in him a sense of wanderlust he had never experienced before. Dale even wondered if he might return to the Mojave that his father had vaguely talked about in the past. So, he decided he should volunteer and join the army. Dale talked to his father Sean about volunteering before making any real decision. Sean was a little disappointed his son did not pursue a better education but also impressed that his son voluntarily joined the army. So, Sean gave Dale his blessing while also pleading with his child to remain safe and honorable. Dale Willis packed up the possessions he needed after that and went to the recruiter to join the NCR Army, irrecoverably changing his life in the process. Service in the Army Dale Willis lied about his age when joining the NCR Army, but that probably did not even matter. At the time Dale joined (2270), the Republic was in dire need for more soldiers to assist in the Pacification of the Mojave. Dale was sent south to a training camp near the Hub to "become a soldier". Dale's training was a basic training regimen, a three week series of abbreviated tutelage on weapons familiarity and explosive ordnance handling, along with intense physical conditioning. Luckily for Dale, he was already somewhat familiar with firearms and was physically fit from his time on the farm. He even proved proficient in explosive ordinance to his own surprise. Since he had no real problem with training, Dale spent much of his free time socializing with the other recruits. He managed to eke out a little friend group inside his platoon. This little group consisted of Joel (a recovering alcoholic conscript from Redding), Sam Johnson (a farmhand volunteer also from Redding), and Hunter Quinn (a self-described "intellectual" conscript from Shady Sands). These men mostly spent their free time discussing their favorite radio programs, exchanging cigarettes, insulting each other, and playing card games. They all became NCR troopers in those weeks. Dale's company was "fully trained" in three weeks and sent off to Bullhead City to assist in the Pacification of the Mojave. They were put under the command of General Aaron Kimball, and their role would be to make the final push against the tribals of the area. Dale and the other NCR troopers in his company were thrust into combat quickly after their arrival. Dale was first put into battle when came word that the Chillbillies, a raider tribe who spoke an ancient language, had been cornered by General Kimball. The NCR troopers in Dale's company were marched straight into the firefight with bullets flying from the Chillbillies' camp. Dale and his friends were sent into the teeth of the remaining Chillbillies. Dale only managed to fire a couple of shots at the Chillbillies before the gunshots within the raider camp grew quiet. This both worried and encouraged Dale. However, when they arrived in the raider camp, the NCR troopers were horrified to find that the raiders had all committed suicide instead of surrendering, even killing their women and children. The sight of all these dead people, not raiders, horrified Dale, and he kind of froze up for a couple of seconds when entering the raider camp. However, his friend Sam managed to shake him out of it, and Dale numbly continued following orders. The Pacification of the Mojave continued on for another year as the NCR Army cleaned up the remaining tribals around Bullhead City. Dale's company was personally involved in fighting against the Steeldrivers, the Coldbloods, the Vipers, and the Luck Dogs. The fighting was hard, but the advantage was still heavily in favor of the New California Republic. Dale learned to deal with the violence around him by sticking close to his friends and remaining loyal to them always. The only one that was a problem was Hunter, who eventually deserted for some tribal woman. During his time in the Mojave, Dale developed further as a person while struggling to "remain true to himself". His attitude became more sullen as time went on due to witnessing so much death. Fortunately, Dale's friends kept him company through both the good time and the bad times. The little group even celebrated Dale's birthday with a caravan lunch. Dale Willis and his company were finally withdrawn from the Mojave in late 2270 when the NCR and General Kimball declared the Pacification of the Mojave finally accomplished. A large portion of the NCR Army was withdrawn back to the homeland while the Ranger Unification Treaty took place and the Mojave Outpost was established. At that time, Dale was able to take some leave to visit his father. The home Dale Willis returned to was not the one he had left behind. In the scant time Dale had left home, his father Sean had gotten married to a much younger woman. His father’s remarriage surprised and angered Dale since he was not even gotten any letters, nonetheless any word about any weddings. Sean Willis was disappointed that his son was angry with him and had hoped to have a momentous welcome home for Dale. After initial hostility, Sean and Dale managed to calm down a few days after Dale’s arrival home. The situation got better when Dale’s friends Sam Johnson arrived at the Willis household and ingratiated himself with Sean. However, the father and son remained rather distant, and Dale ignored his family’s letters after his first visit. After a few weeks of leave, Dale Willis returned to the army and was reassigned to Cascadia on the Oregon border. This made Dale optimistic as he knew the Oregon Brushfire Wars had pretty much grinded to a halt by 2271, hoping this would mean he would remain safe. That stayed true, at first. In 2271, Dale was stationed in the town of Medford to garrison the place in case the tribals in Oregon got any ideas and the Free Northwestern Army could not stop them. It was a comfy position on the frontier but not too close to danger. Dale and his friends spent most of their time in Medford enjoying the town’s creature comforts, including food, liquor, and women. Even though they were messing around most of the time, Dale and his friends were still on friendly terms with the people of Medford. Dale’s time in Medford was a pleasant blur in his memories. One important event in Dale’s life in Medford was his introduction to sexuality. Dale’s father Sean had always had a rather conservative view on sex and had accordingly opted out of talking to Dale about it in any real depth. So, when Dale and his fellow NCR troopers were first introduced to the ladies of Medford, Dale was confused but intrigued. He soon found that sex was very pleasurable and learned to enjoy himself. However, at that time Dale also discovered his bisexuality with a more experienced resident of Medford. Dale kept that to himself for the next few years he was in Medford. In 2274, Oregon tribals began to regroup after their defeat in the War of the Northwestern Alliance under the leadership of the savage Chief Woman-Eater instead of the aging Chief Kill-a-Ton. Chief Woman-Eater made a beeline for the Oregon border down the Pacific coastline, cutting through the FNA's troopers like hot butter. So, Dale Willis and the other nearby NCR trooper were quickly sent as a stop-gap measure to shield the Republic's homeland from an attack from the Oregon tribals. The battle near the pre-War ruins of Coquille would be Dale’s first since the Mojave. Dale and his friends would set up defenses on a ridge overlooking the road out of Coquille to ambush the advancing Oregon tribals. However, the ambush started off poorly due to the incompetence of a couple of troopers. The Oregon tribals struck fast and hard against the NCR troopers. The NCR troopers got off a couple of volleys against the tribals before they got in close. A melee ensued, and Dale was forced into hand to hand combat with a fiery eyed tribal. Dale fumbled with his combat knife to fend off the tribal but only ended up falling down before managing to stab his attacker. He felt like he was being drowned in blood and subsequently blacked out. Dale awakened in a tent being tended to by a NCR medic. The medic told Dale that the NCR had narrowly won the battle at Coquille and that he was being held in a camp nearby. Dale was relieved by this and after some minor injuries were patched up, he was allowed to leave. Upon leaving the medical tent, Dale was overjoyed to find Joel and Sam Johnson patiently waiting for him. The three briefed each other on what happened in the battle and realized how close each of them had come to death. Dale was also told that this war with the tribals was going to continue for the foreseeable future. On the spot, the three friends made a pact to care for the others’ family members if they died. This pact was made as a fail-safe though, as the friends also promised to carry each other through the coming months. Months turned into years. The Battle of Coquille turned into the Smouldering War, the next stage in the long-standing conflict between the New California Republic and the Oregon tribals. Dale, his friends, and other NCR troopers in Cascadia (as well as a multitude of FNA troopers) were forced to fight on an almost daily basis against tribals for weeks on end sometimes. This constant fighting wore out out the little friend group, but they all remained together. That is until Sam was killed by a poisonous stab wound in 2275 and Joel died of dysentery in 2276. This left Dale Willis all alone in 2277 when he finally decided to go on leave back to the Republic's homeland. He was readily allowed to go on leave by his superiors who lauded his performance on the field. Returning to New California Dale came back from the frontier with little more than his NCR trooper uniform and a couple of NCR dollars in his pocket. He made his way back to his father's farm in northern California over a couple of weeks in mid 2277. He was harassed by numerous bandits and wildlife on the way but finally made his way back to his farming community just in time to hear about the First Battle of Hoover Dam. The returning son was once again surprised when he returned to his father Sean's home. His father and stepmother had father three more children, and the farming community Dale had grown up in had turned into the town of Lydia. Dale was surprisingly indifferent to this new "siblings" and simply rested most of the time. Dale finally seemed to come to a week and a half after his arrival, holding a long conversation with his father about the things he had seen in Cascadia. Dale’s words reminded Sean of things he had seen in Arizona before the arrival of the Legion. He comforted his eldest son the best he could. Lydia was simply too different for Dale to feel comfortable though. Things only worsened when Dale lashed out when his father tried to ask him further questions about his time in the army. He even raised his fist in the presence of his father and stepmother when they pressed him about his friends in the NCR Army. This was the breaking point for Dale and even though his father forgave him for what he did, he decided that he would leave Lydia then and there to go fulfill some friends' wishes. Neither Joel nor Sam Johnson had survived the Smoldering War so Dale was off to search for both of their families to console them. That would take Dale on a journey to meet with his comrades' families. This journey would take Dale to Redding, the hometown of both of Joel and Sam Johnson. Dale did not have an address for either man’s family so he had to ask around. He quickly learned that the Johnsons had moved to the Boneyard after Sam’s death, so Dale couched looking for them for the moment. So, Dale decided to look for Joel’s family. He came up disappointed. Joel’s parents Lou and Doris, his only relatives, had both died in 2275 while their son was in Cascadia, meaning Joel had never even known they had died as he never said anything about it to Dale. This saddened Dale greatly and caused him to go to Redding’s local watering hole to try to drink his pain away. That predictably did not work, and the next day, Dale was faced with a decision: return to his family in Lydia or try to find Sam Johnson’s family in the Boneyard. Dale knew he situation at home would only worsen if he returned so he decided on following the trail of Sam’s family. This led to a quite a long walk for Dale Willis as he trekked south through the entire NCR to get to the Boneyard. That trek included several encounters, both peaceful and violent. Dale managed to fend off any attackers with his trusty service rifle. When Dale arrived in the Boneyard, he did not know what to do with himself. Perhaps that was why he there in the first place. So, Dale started searching for Sam’s family to tell them Sam’s last words and to rest his own conscience. It took Dale three weeks to finally find the Johnsons. That was because their names had changed to the Jeffreys because of remarriage, and they were living in squalor. Dale found the mother Tam (and his friend Sam’s wife) sprawled out on a couch with eyes clouded by Jet. He found her nine year old daughter cowering in corner trying to ignore the misery. This situation greatly distressed Dale to say the least, and he saved no time in chewing out Tam while telling her about his friend and her husband Sam’s sacrifice. This seemingly shattered Tam and she broke down in tears blubbering about her crippling anxiety after Sam’s death. This fell on deaf ears as Dale made up his mind then and there that Sam’s child was coming with him. However, it then occurred to him that Sam had mentioned he had two daughters, one that would be nine at that point and one that would be sixteen. Dale shook Tam back to lucidity and asked her where the other daughter was. Tam blithely told Dale that she had been on “vacation” with her stepfather at the Catalina Casino on Santa’s Catalina Island for the last week. At that, Dale feared the worst for his friend’s adolescent daughter. He wanted to help her greatly but knew his funds were already stretched thin. Who knew what a casino would do to his already rather small wallet? However, it was then that Dale made another decision: he was going to rescue his friend’s daughter. He decided to leave he smaller daughter to her mother for now and go ahead. Getting to Santa Catalina Island was not all that hard, as it was just a boat ride from the Boneyard proper. Dale became more and more uncomfortable as he neared Santa Catalina Island. He though of all the good times he had with his friend, not just Sam Johnson, and what could bee happening to Sam's daughter right then and there. These thoughts scared him. Santa Catalina Island was beautiful, but that was none of Dale's concern. He had a mission in mind, ignoring the richie rich types on the docks and their pre-War yachts. Dale made a beeline straight for Catalina Casino hoping to find what he was looking for. He was unhappy to have to hand over his weapons at the casino's door, but it was necessary to get in. There would be no shootout to Dale’s disappointment. Dale Willis bought a room in Catalina Casino and decided to start looking this Jeffrey guy and Sam’s daughter. He decided to start playing blackjack to blend in while searching for the two. It was there that Dale met a rather diverse set of characters. The first memorable character Dale met was Saito, the Mad Guru, at a blackjack table on his second day in the casino. Saito was an eccentric figure who was at the head of a small but influential “yoga movement” in the Boneyard. Saito allegedly went to the Catalina Casino to “spread teachings” but rarely talked about his beliefs at the card table. However, Saito did at one point ask everyone around the card table about their own beliefs, religious or ideological. When Dale's turn came, he grunted "Pass." This interested Saito, who decided to try to analyze Dale and did a surprisingly good job at it. He pinned down Dale's military background, his love of the nicer things in life, and the fact he was not at the casino looking for money. However, the Mad Guru was mistaken in believing Dale was a mercenary and had child, so that demystified the man in Dale's eyes. Dale ignored Saito, cold regarding the man. After that conversation, Saito remained quiet and moved on to another card table. Afterwards, Dale thought he got a glimpse of Sam’s daughter and got up to look. He came up empty. The next notable person Dale met at the Catalina Casino was Mississippi Don, who was alternating between gambling and being the entertainment for the casino. Gun Runners Personality The personality of Dale Willis has been one that's changed greatly over the years. During his childhood, Dale was quick, witty, and quick to make friends. He was very hard-working but intellectually lazy, never wanting taking opportunity of the education provided to him. Dale's easy-going personality continued into his early army career but eventually, this changed. His friends died in the war and his superiors "whipped him into shape". Dale left the war subdued and cold but more structured than before. That was what led to him being hired by the Gun Runners and rising through their ranks. He maintains this image to maintain control over his employees in Seattle and his adopted children. However, the trauma from the Oregon Brushfire Wars still haunts Dale's mind in the form of flashbacks and bouts of sporadic violence. The Gun Runners around Dale keep him in line as best as they can while Dale tries to control himself as best he can. Appearance Equipment Quotes By About Category:New California Republic Category:Cascadia